Fraggles in the Shire
by Pip4
Summary: While wandering the caves one day, Wembley Fraggle comes face to face with a Silly Creature. Crossover with LOTR. Companion piece to Hobbits and Fraggles. Reviews greatly appreciated. Chapter Two finally up
1. Silly Creature in One of the Tunnels!

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything nor am I making money from it._

_This is just an idea that came to me one day. There isn't an overall plot to the chapters in the story. It's just going to be a collection of little bits I'll write from time to time. The only thing chronological about it will be the introduction of the characters to each other. If anyone has any scenarios they'd like to see run let me know and I may consider them. This story has a companion called __**Hobbits and Fraggles**__. Basically that one is just what's happening on the other side of the wall._

_Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it._

Wembley Fraggle was bored. He had finished his 30 minute work week with the volunteer firefighters and was looking forward to some time with his friends. However, Boober was busy washing clothes and didn't want to be bothered with any new activity at the moment. Red had roped Gobo into helping her with some crazy stunt. Unfortunately (or fortunately for Wembley, depending on how he looked back at it) it was a two person stunt and Wembley wasn't needed. Mokey was still up picking radishes and while he didn't mind helping her, he wasn't too fond of the idea of braving the gorgs alone in order to that.

This led him to his current predicament of just wandering around. It wasn't so bad, he supposed. Sure he liked being with his friends and didn't like being left a lone for an extended period of time. Or at night. Or in strange places. But all the same it was nice to just wander, sort out his thoughts and all. Except, sorting out his thoughts meant concentrating more on them than the surrounding caverns. When he looked around him after a while he found himself in a section of tunnel he didn't recognize.

Growing a little nervous at the unfamiliarity of the place he looked around, trying to figure out where he'd come from. Surely the others were done doing whatever it was they were doing. And he should head back anyway.

"Well, at least this tunnel isn't making any spooky noises," he muttered to himself.

Finally, he was able to get his bearings and would have started back had it not been for a small shuffling sound he heard.

"I spoke to soon," he said with a groan.

Instinct told him that he needed to leave right now. He had no intention of encountering another tunnel from which he would never return. However, he noticed that the sound didn't sound very threatening. In fact, it sounded as if someone were further down it. Maybe they were lost. Well, the least he could do would be to help them get back to the Rock. Plus, he was sure he'd be grateful for the company.

Wembley ambled toward the sound and was just about ready to call out to whoever it was when he rounded a corner and found himself face to face with a Silly Creature.

A Silly Creature.

From one of Gobo's Uncle Travelling Matt's stories.

Well, at least the stories were true.

"Ahh!"

"Ahhhh"

"Gahhh!"

"Arrrrggg!"

Wembley backed away as he and the silly creature exchanged yells, then finally turned, and bolted from the cave. Had he stuck around long enough to see, he would have noticed that the silly creature had done the same thing. Wembley's only thought was to get back to the Rock and his friends as fast as Fraggely possible.

"Hey guys, have you seen Wembley?" Gobo Fraggle asked worriedly as he walked into his hole where Red, Boober and Mokey were waiting. "I haven't seen him since earlier this afternoon."

The group had joined up at the house later that day and were about to go up and retrieve Uncle Travelling Matt's postcard.

"Yea," responded Boober. "He came by the laundry room earlier. I was in the middle of laundry so he left."

"Did he say where he was going?" asked Gobo.

"No, he just left. I assumed he went to find you guys. Or go do something else. Honestly Gobo, if you keep encouraging him he's going to go off on his own and do something dangerous one of these days."

"Oh I really don't think you have to worry about that Boober," replied Gobo.

"He follows you around all the time doesn't he?" pressed Boober.

"Well yea, but that's different. I mean, you guys follow me around every now and then too. Besides, Wembley can barely stand to spend the night here on his own. I don't think he's going to be running off any time soon," Gobo assured.

"Yea, I guess you're right," Boober aquiesed.

"I didn't see him in the garden," commented Mokey.

"Well, where ever he is, I hope he doesn't stay away long, I'm getting worried," continued Gobo.

"Yea," Red broke in, "A bored Wembley is a Wembley who's going to be in some kind of trouble by the end of the day."

The discussion was cut off by a high pitched shrieking, the owner of which could be easily identified, in spite of the fact that said owner appeared a few seconds later and barreled into Gobo.

"Huh, I wasn't thinking it would be that fast," commented Red.

"Ow! Wembley!" complained an annoyed Gobo. But he lost his annoyance as he helped the smaller fraggle to his feet.

Wembley was breathing hard from the run and was shaking with fear. He started speaking as soon as he regained his feet. Well, he was saying words at least.

"Cave…*gasp*…tunnel…*gasp*…creature…*gasp*…big."

Gobo, Boober, and Red began asking questions to try and find out what Wembley was talking about. Finally, when this got nowhere, Mokey came around behind Wembley, put one hand on his shoulder and wrapped the other around him in a comforting manner.

"Easy Wembley," she cooed. "Easy, calm down. Take deeps breaths. In and out, in and out, that's it…"

She continued this mantra in her soothing voice and Wembley in turn was able to compose his breathing and his thoughts. And the moment they were composed…

"THERE'S A SILLY CREATURE IN ONE OF THE TUNNELS!"

Mokey grabbed Wembley's shoulders again to hold him steady as her hands had been thrown off as he had flung his arms out in his panicked proclamation. The others gasp.

"Wembley, what are you talking about?" asked Gobo in an attempt to keep the other calm. "The tunnels are too small for a silly creature to fit into."

But Wembley had fallen back into too much of a state to give a clear answer anymore. At a loss of anything else to do, Gobo and Red exchanged a quick glance then reached down, grabbed Wembley by the ankles and pulled them out from under him.

Wembley hung there for a moment before coming back to his thoughts again.

"I saw one, just now, just now it was there in the tunnel. It started screaming at me" insisted Wembley, trying to keep his fear to a minimum, for his sake as much as the others. It wasn't helpful that Red was getting skittish and Boober started panicking as well.

"There's a silly creature in one of the tunnels?" he raved. "Oh this is just the start of all sorts of bad news. If one can get in others will too and before you know it Fraggle Rock will be over run by creatures who don't belong here. They'll drive us out if we're lucky and who knows what they'll do if we're unlucky and-"

"BOOBER!" the other three level headed Fraggles shouted.

"Now come on guys," said Gobo as he and Red righted Wembley, "This is not the time for panicking."

"Y-yea, yea you're right Gobo, we shouldn't panic. No panicking." agree Wembley.

"What are you talking about? This is the perfect time to panic," interjected Boober.

"Yes! Yes, everybody panic!" screamed Wembley in response.

"Wembley!" Gobo grabbed Wembley by the shoulders, shook him slightly and got right in his face. As a result, Wembley was forced to look straight at him and thus calmed down a little.

Gobo began to speak gently. "Now, Wembley. You've seen the silly creature in that room I go into all the time. You know there's no tunnel big enough for one of them to fit into. Are you sure about what you saw?"

"Yes Gobo," breathed an exasperated Wembley. He was beginning to calm down and now he felt they needed to take some sort of action.

"Um Gobo," interjected Red. "I know it doesn't sound all that likely. But, well, what if Wembley's telling the truth. He was right that time he claimed to have found the terrible tunnel, remember?"

"Yea, I remember," sighed Gobo. He bowed his head to think for a moment. He really did not want to face the fact that a silly creature had actually made it into the tunnels. Sure, Boober's pessimistic ranting wasn't needed at the moment. But there was a good deal of truth in his worry.

"Okay," he finally came to a decision. "We're gonna go investigate the tunnel."

"G-gobo," stuttered Wembley. "I really don't want to go back there again."

"I'm sorry Wembley but you're the only one who knows where it is. If there is really something there, we need to know what we're dealing with. After that, we'll try to figure out where to go from there."

Wembley shook his head frantically as Gobo spoke.

"N-no Gobo," he protested, his voice getting faster and more agitated. "No really I don't want to go back there I can't I-"

"Wembley you have to. Don't worry, you won't be alone, we're all going with you," assured his friend.

Sighing, Wembley gamely nodded his head.

"Alright Gobo," he agreed.

"Alright c'mon guys, let's get ready to go," commanded Gobo.

The group took a few minutes to gather the essentials needed. They all pulled on the various bits of makeshift armor they had, the same kind they'd donned when they had to rescue Wembley from the Gorgs. Gobo even strapped his wooden sword on and grabbed a map.

"Alright Wembley, lead the way," he commanded gently. "Don't worry, we'll be right behind you."

Nervously, Wembley led the group through the tunnel he'd wandered down. It was a little hard but he kept a sharp eye out for familiar landmarks and remembered the general direction.

Everything was going fine and when he was sure they were near where he saw the silly creature he pointed ahead.

"It's just up this way," he said, pointing with a shaking finger. As they got closer and closer Wembley's hands crept closer to eyes until he was stumbling through the tunnel peering through the barely visibly slits between his fingers.

"O-ok-kay," he said. "It should be right here." With his eyes covered he didn't see the site the others were greeted with.

"So, where is it?" asked Red.

Wembley froze. What?

His hands flew away from his eyes to reveal an empty tunnel and the various looks of his friends.

Red's eyes were full of anger and she was positively bristling. Boober was confused and looking around nervously as if expecting something to come jumping out of the walls. Mokey too looked confused and a little disappointed as well. But when she looked at Wembley it was expectant as if awaiting further directions.

Gobo's face was the hardest to decipher. He looked partly relieved and partly annoyed. But Wembley could tell that despite his friend's relief, disappointed and irritation would take precedence first. Oh, he was never going to hear the end of this one.

"Oh Wembley," Gobo breathed

Wembley looked around frantically, trying to find some explanation.

"But…but…but it was right here," he insisted.

"Sure it was Wembley," barked Red. "Sure and I bet there was a miniature Gorg behind it too!"

"There was a Gorg?" exclaimed Boober.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean…" Wembley trailed off as he tried to figure out what to say. "Look, there wasn't a Gorg but there was-"

"Wembley," interrupted Gobo, "There isn't anything here."

But, but maybe it left or we went down the wrong tunnel or-"

"Or you've finally lost your mind Welmbley," Red started in. Mokey quickly moved in to try and distract Red from her anger at Wembley.

"Now Red," she began, "I'm sure Wembley thought he saw something. I mean, you know these caves, it's easy to get mixed up in here."

"Well, whatever it was," said Gobo certainly, "It's gone now."

"Good, then can we go home now?" begged Boober.

Red, Gobo, and Mokey nodded and mumbled various forms of agreement and the four began to head back to the main cavern, their minds already on the next activity they might do. Only Wembley stayed behind, looking around the caves incredulously. After a while he realized that his friends were no longer around and once again he was standing alone in the tunnel.

"Wait! Come back guys." When he caught up he rushed to the front and looked at the other imploringly.

"Look, I know this doesn't look that good but I'm not making this up," he pleaded. "And I don't think I saw something Mokey. I _know _I saw something. I was face to face with it. You have to believe me, there was something there. We have to find out what it was."

Red looked over at Gobo with an exasperated look.

"You deal with him," she muttered, "I'm going home." She stalked off.

Mokey looked at the boys then off at Red.

"Um, I think I should go make sure Red's going to be okay."

Wembley sighed as he watched them go. He looked over at Gobo and Boober, who still stood looking at him uncertainly.

"You believe me, don't you guys?" he asked pleadingly.

"Gee, I don't know Wembley," reasoned Gobo. "There's nothing in that tunnel and nothing really to indicate that something should have been in it." He then gave a confused look at the map. "Besides, Uncle Travelling Matt and I have mapped this tunnel, several times, and there was nothing that showed something could get in that way."

"Well, something did Gobo," asserted Wembley. But even as he said that, he faltered a little. "Or…or it got in some other way and somehow got…into that…tunnel…"

The little green Fraggle slowed down his speaking as he realized what he was saying. There was no way something that large could get in through another tunnel and then make its way to the current tunnel without being seen by something. And Gobo and Travelling Matt were thorough mapmakers. They would have accounted for every twist, turn, rock and pebble and they certainly would not have missed an opening big enough to let something in.

Gobo and Boober watched as Wembley went over these thoughts in his head, definitely wembling but this time between his own eyes and his own reasoning. When he leaned back against a wall after a minute or two of silence they approached him quietly and Gobo put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Wembley, are you okay?" he asked.

Wembley looked at Gobo and Boober with troubled eyes.

"Gobo, if there's not any way for something to get into this cave then _what_ did I see?"

"Maybe you didn't see anything Wembley," remarked Boober. His voice was still edgy but it held more concern than pessimism in it. "Maybe Mokey was right, maybe you thought you saw something even if there was nothing there. You sure you're not getting sick?"

"No Boober I don't think…well I never really thought about it much but-"

He was cut off by Boober ushering him out of the cave.

"That must be it. You're coming down with something. C'mon Gobo let's get him back to the hole and into bed. I'll try and figure out what it is so that we can cure it."

"Um okay," agreed Wembley though he was still a little uncertain.

Gobo came up beside the two.

"Do you really think he's getting sick Boober?"

"Oh absolutely," assured Boober. "There's all sorts of diseases that can make a Fraggle start seeing things." He then turned the conversation toward Wembley. "Since you don't have a fever I imagine it's Hallucinosis."

"Is that dangerous?" asked Wembley as he let himself be led away from the tunnel and thoughts of what he saw there slowly faded.

Wembley opened his eyes with a groan, what a night. After leading him from the cave, Gobo had left him in Boober's care to go smooth out things with Red and Mokey.

Boober, in the meantime, had part led part corralled him back to the hole and in no uncertain terms got him into his bunk. By this point Wembley was convinced that he was sick and was willing to do pretty much anything Boober asked him to.

The rest of the night consisted of Boober pushing all the radish soup and dandelion tea on the young fraggle as he could take. Gobo eventually returned, with Mokey and Red following close behind. Red was still a little miffed about being worked up over nothing, but she had calmed down a bit on hearing that Wembley was sick. After a while though, Mokey and Red went home and the boys settled down to sleep. Well, Wembley had tried to.

He was completely convinced that he was sick and had been seeing things. But, he still wasn't convinced that he hadn't seen _something_. Granted, he had never seen things that weren't there before, so he didn't know what it was like to do so. But the memory of what he had seen didn't seem fake. He had finally dropped off to sleep with that confusing thought in his mind.

Wembley looked around to make sure he hadn't woken Gobo or Boober, who had offered to stay the night. He lay awake for a few minutes thinking the same thoughts as the night before. Finally, he came to a decision. Very quietly he slipped from his bunk and out the door. No use in waking the others. They had been up with him all night and were probably tired.

Wembley made his way to the tunnel. He decided that the best way to decide he hadn't seen anything was to go back to the tunnel and check again. Boober had assured him he'd be better after a good sleep which he had gotten for the most part.

Wembley ambled down the passage, a little nervous at what he might find. But as he continued and saw nothing he became more and more confident that there was nothing.

When he reached the bend where he had come across the silly creature he breathed a sigh of relief. The tunnel was empty. He went down a little more to make sure and then turned to leave.

That's what he heard it.

"Hello?"

It was quiet and it was faint, but it was there, and it stopped Wembley right in his tracks.

After a moments debate on whether to run away or investigate he decided to investigate.

"I knew it," he thought to himself as he pressed on. This was his only chance to show he knew what he saw and find out what it was and if Fraggle Rock would be in danger because of it.

He almost stopped at the thought of it being dangerous and him being on his own. It was short lived though and he kept going.

"If I'm the only thing between it and the Rock, well, then, I'll do what I have to."

As he drew further into the cave he realized that it was growing lighter. He heard the voice again, this time much clearer and closer. And it didn't sound very scary. It was high and lilting and in all honestly it sounded more like a fraggle's than a Gorg's. That had to count for something right?

"Hello? Hello, is anybody there?"

It was definitely close. Nervously Wembley peaked around the corner and saw it. The same face he had seen before. Green eyes, light brown curly hair, and pale brown skin, such an odd color for skin, he thought. And no tail. He also noticed the hole that it knelt in front of.

"I should probably tell Gobo about that," he thought to himself.

Finally he drew up the nerve to say something.

"H-h-he-ll-llo?" he stuttered.

The silly creature gasped, startling Wembley, who ducked back behind the bend as fast as he could. Only two things kept him from running. Now that he knew he most definitely was not seeing things, he needed to know what the silly creature wanted and how to keep it out of the tunnel. The others most likely would not follow him up there again.

The second thing was that the silly creature called out to him again.

"Wait!" it called. "Come back, I'm not going to hurt you."

Nervously and trembling, Wembley peeked around the rock once more and looked down the rest of the tunnel at the silly creature. It didn't make any movement for which Wembley was grateful. Slowly though it leaned into the tunnel just a little bit and pulled something out of its pocket.

"Hello," it called out in a comforting tone, much like the same way Mokey would talk to himself or Boober if something was wrong. "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

It tore whatever it had in its hand apart and held it out.

"Here," he offered, "are you hungry?"

Warily, Wembley dared to venture out of his hiding spot. He approached cautiously, but now with a newfound curiosity. The creature hadn't tried to thump him or attack him or something else so it had to be friendly, he reasoned.

It set whatever it was on the ground and then backed away a little bit. Wembley picked the food off the ground.

"Um, th-thank you," he said courteously, looking up at the silly creature.

The silly creature had a bit of a stunned look on its face but answered.

"You're welcome,' it said. Wembley wondered if it was just as surprised that he was speaking with it as he was that it was speaking to him.

Wembley took a small bite of the food it had given him. The taste of it was fantastic and he quickly finished the rest of it.

"I wonder if Traveling Matt ever wrote to Gobo about food like this," he thought quietly to himself. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the silly creature abruptly spoke, startling him a bit.

"Are you a fairy?"

Wembley shot his head up and looked straight at the silly creature, trying to decipher what it had just said. What in the Rock was a fairy?

"Pardon?" he asked. Funny, the silly creature just kept talking as if he'd never said anything.

"Or a baby dwarf?" it continued. "I mean you live in a cave and have a big nose but you're smaller than me and you don't have a beard so you certainly don't look like any dwarf I've ever seen. But then again I'm pretty sure you're not a fairy as there's nothing really well, fairy like about you but-"

"W-wait wait!" Wembley interrupted. "Fairy? Dwarf? What are you talking about?"

The silly creature finally realized that it had been talking so fast and that Wembley was very confused. He watched as it took a deep breath and then started again.

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you?"

"Oh," answered Wembley as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm a fraggle."

Now it was the silly creature's turn to be confused. It raised it's eyebrows with uncertainty.

"A fraggle?" it asked.

Wembley nodded excitedly.

"Mmm-hmm. Wembley Fraggle is my name." Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Oh wow. This is wonderful. If you don't know what fraggles are then you weren't looking for Fraggle Rock while you were in the tunnels."

The silly creature shook his head amiably.

"No, I was just hiding from my sister," it explained. Then it leaned in closer to Wembley with an interested look in its eye.

"What's Fraggle Rock?" it asked. "Is that where you live?"

Wembley's smile faltered and he brought his hands to his mouth. As he realized what he'd just said he began to shake his head and speak rapidly.

"Oh no. No no no no no! You weren't supposed to hear that. No, Fraggle Rock's nothing, forget I said anything about it it's nothing it wouldn't interest you please don't destroy it or-"

The silly creature quickly tried to interject. As it started speaking it pulled Wembley out of his panic a little.

"Wait wait wait. No I don't want to destroy anything I was just curious," he assured. "And I won't tell anyone else about you or it if you don't want me to."

Wembley was stunned. He brought his hands down and looked at the creature earnestly.

"You won't? Really?"

The silly creature suddenly looked very serious as he nodded.

"You have my word." It simply said.

"Oh," breathed Wembley in relief. "Thank you so much. it's just…well, we Fraggles don't really go too far from Fraggle Rock. The only one who ever did was my friend Gobo's Uncle Traveling Matt. Gobo gets postcards from him sometime and has to get past a silly creature to get them and it's very dangerous. I don't know what we'd do if he ever got caught or if the silly creature ever saw him."

Wembley watched as the silly creature listened to his explanation. To his surprise it nodded, almost as if in understanding.

"We hobbits are like that too," he said. We don't usually venture into the outside world. Don't worry; I can keep your secret."

"Thank you again," replied Wembley. "Hobbits?" he then asked, "Is that what you are? I was wondering about that. You look like the silly creature in the first room that Gobo has to go into. But it's too big to fit into these tunnels and it wears things on its feet."

The "hobbit" nodded.

"Yes, we're called hobbits, though from what my cousin Frodo has told me, the Big People call us haflings." Then, from his sitting position he bowed shallowly to Wembley.

"Peregrin Took," it said, "at your service and your family's. But you can call me Pippin."

Wembley looked at Pippin in amazement. A sill- er hobbit, had just bowed to him. This was turning out to be an incredible day.

"Wow," he breathed. "It's very nice to meet you Pippin."

"Likewise Wembley," the hobbit nodded. "And, I guess you could call us silly creatures as we are at many times. We're smaller than everyone else though, at least that's what I've heard from Frodo and Bilbo. So I imagine you and your friend have seen a big person."

Wembley nodded in understanding.

"And This is the Shire," the hobbit continued on. "Well, not this this," he gestured around the room. "This is a storage room in the Great Smials. And that's in Tuckborough, which is part of the Shire, which is part of Middle Earth."

Wembley listened intently, oh if only Gobo could hear about this. "Wow, Outer Space is bigger than I thought it was."

Pippin nodded with a chuckle.

"Yes, the world seemed much smaller until I started listening to Cousin Bilbo's stories. He's really the only hobbit that's ever gone beyond the Shire. He came back with all sorts of exciting stories."

"Your cousin Bilbo sounds an awful lot like Gobo's Uncle Traveling Matt," commented Wembley. "I bet he would love this. I bet Gobo would love this."

Pippin drew closer to Wembley excitedly.

"Well, if Matt is anything like Bilbo, I bet Gobo is something like Frodo. I-" Pippin suddenly cut off, and Wembley darted behind a rock at a sudden pounding at the door.

"Pippin, Peregrin Took, open this door," a voice that reminded Wembley a bit like Papa Gorg's voice rang out and he shrank back in fright.

"Just a minute," Pippin called before turning back to Wembley

"I'm sorry Wembley," he said after a moment. "I have to board this hole up."

Despite the gravity of the situation Wembley's heart fell.

"Oh, Does this mean I won't see you again? I-I wanted to introduce Gobo to you."

Wembley watched as Pippin puzzled over something for a moment. Then his face lit up with a conclusion.

"I'll leave it loose, then, we could meet again. And with the hole covered there's no risk that someone will find out about Fraggle rock."

"That would be fantastic Pippin," Wembley agreed.

More banging.

"Peregrin, now!" the order was very clear.

"I'm coming," Pippin yelled back quickly. Wembley looked down the tunnel urgently then back at Pippin

"You'd better go. I'll see you…well… I'm sure we'll get a chance to meet again soon."

"But we will, right?" asked Wembley

"Right," was the firm response.

Without any further words, both knew that the time for stalling was ending fast. As Pippin got up, Wembley made a dash down the tunnel, grateful to be away from whatever it was that has been ready to break into that room. He ran until he couldn't hear voices anymore.

He had to find Gobo. Gobo would want to see this. Maybe he would want to map out the "mathom room," as Pippin had called it, like he had mapped out the Gorg's castle.

He was so busy thinking about what Gobo might say about the new discovery that he was quite startle when two pairs of hands shot out and grabbed him, eliciting a startled squawk.

"Wembley!" came a mixture of two voices that he soon separated to being Gobo's and Boober's.

"Wembley," voiced the latter, "You shouldn't be out of bed yet. Running around tunnels in the early morning does not a sickness cure."

"Yea Wembley," cut in Gobo, "You had us worried for a moment there."

"Guys," exclaimed Wembley, "Oh it's wonderful, I'm not sick after all. There's a hole at the end of this tunnel and a silly creature really is there. Only, he calls himself a hobbit and his name is Pippin and he lives in this place called the Shire and-"

He was cut off by Boober who, along with Gobo had been looking at him as if he'd lost his mind.

"He's delirious," Boober said gingerly to Gobo. "C'mon." The two grabbed a protesting Wembley by the arms. It was similar to the walk back home they had taken day before only this time instead of a compliant patient they had a squirming, resisting young Fraggle to contend with.

"No, I'm not-hey, Boober let me go. Gobo tell him," Wembley protested him and they pushed him along out of the cave.

"Don't think so Wembley," replied Gobo, "Boober's right. Yesterday you were seeing things and now you're running off having conversations with them. You must really be sick."

"Yea, you're going home and going to bed for a week if I have anything to say about it," Boober stated firmly. "It's a good thing you don't appear to be contagious."

"But-but-but guys, aww c'mon guys…"

The younger fraggle realized as he was manhandled out of the tunnel that this conversation wasn't going anywhere and finally just went a long with it. He was sure that eventually, a better time would present itself.

_Please review but I'd appreciate no flames_


	2. Of Wizards and Explorers

_**I don't own any of this and it's not for profit.**_

**AN Sorry about the wait everyone. Life got in the way and I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd last gotten a chapter. Hope you like this one.**

"Squeet squeet squat squat deetily doink."

Gobo peaked behind a rock, silently tracking his quarry as it ambled down the tunnel. It wasn't too hard due to the noise Wembley was making but he was still worried about losing sight of him. He turned back to look at his companion who was lagging behind.

"Come on Boober," he hissed, "We're gonna lose him."

Boober caught up to Gobo, breathing hard, and stopped to catch his breath for a moment

"*pant* Gobo…*pant*…explain to me again…*pant*…how I let you talk me into this." Boober gasped.

"Hey, it was partly your idea remember?" was the snide answer.

Boober held up a hand in an attempt at clarification.

"When-when I said that we should do something about that fact the Wembley sneaks down here regularly, I sort of…*pant*…sort of meant something along the lines of you talking to him. Not tracking him down some tunnel to spy on his wild delusions."

Gobo nodded distractedly as the two started walking again before they lost Wembley's trail. Ever since Wembley had come to the four of them, raving that there was a silly creature in one of the tunnels a few weeks ago, he'd been seen sneaking back down it every now and then and returning after spending some time there. Gobo had asked about it one time and all Wembley had said was that he was just going out for a walk and then promptly changed the subject

"I want to know where he's going," he said in response to Boober's comment. "I have a feeling that we're not going to have much luck convincing him that he's seeing things unless we know what he's doing down here."

Boober nodded in acquiescence.

"I suppose that's right," he agreed grudgingly. "Although I'm wondering what will happen if we can't convince him he's sick again. We'd have to confine him to bed…well…possibly indefinitely."

Gobo grimaced at Boober's insinuation. A sick Wembley was easy enough to keep abed. But if he didn't think he was sick then they were sure to have a bit of a war on their hands.

"Well, let's see what we're dealing with first," he replied as the two continued on. They slowed their paces after a while upon hearing Wembley's voice. It was apparent that he had stopped and was talking to someone (or thought he was at any rate). The two fraggles crept up quietly so as not to startle him.

They were almost there when Boober paused. Gobo, who had moved up a few more paces, looked back, confused.

"Boober what-" Boober held out a hand quickly, motioning him into silence. He waited a few more moments before looking at Gobo.

"Gobo? Do you hear that?" he whispered.

Gobo listened for a moment to the action happening up ahead. They were now close enough that although they couldn't see Wembley, they could hear him clearly.

"…yea I don't think they'd believe me even now." He was saying. "They'd probably say I was sick and put me to bed again."

"Oh, that's too bad, I keep hoping to meet them." another voice answered.

Gobo's eyes widened and he and Boober exchanged looks. Another voice had answered Wembley. It was high enough that it had blurred together with Wembley's voice when they were far away but now that they were close enough they could make out a clear distinction.

"Gobo," Boober piped up, breaking the silence between the two, "Wembley's definitely talking to someone."

Gobo nodded in exasperation, "I know Boober," he said.

The two stood in brief disbelief for a moment before Boober spoke.

"So we know what he's doing now," he commented wryly. "Now what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Gobo answered hurriedly.

Gobo was shaken from the middle of his puzzling when a new voice joined the conversation.

"Pippin? What are you doing in here?"

Whoever it was, was someone that the other two were not expecting due to the fact that a surprised yelp issued from both of them. Gobo and Boober heard a loud *thunk* and suddenly the voices of "Pippin" and whoever it was that had joined in sounded muffled and further away, as if they were in another room.

"Now's our chance Boober let's go," he said and the two made their way the last little bit to where Wembley was standing, his ear up to a boarded wall. He looked a little bit startled but wasn't making any attempts to run away. In fact it was almost as if he appeared to be waiting patiently (well, as patiently as Wembley could be.) He looked up when he saw Boober and Gobo coming towards them and smiled.

"Gobo! Boober!" he greeted with an excited whisper, obviously trying to avoid being heard by the occupants on the other side. "Wow, this is wonderful. Now I can introduce you to Pippin at least."

The two older fraggles looks at the younger one in disbelief.

"Wembley," Boober finally spoke, "We do not want to meet any hostile creatures that could be on the other side of this wall."

"They aren't hostile," Wembley argued. "At least Pippin isn't."

"Then why aren't you still talking to him?" asked Gobo.

"Well because someone else came into the room and I'm not sure who it is just yet," Wembley reasoned as he continued to listen to the conversation.

"Really cousin," Pippin was saying in a skittish voice, "Wh-Why would you think someone's in here?"

"Because I heard you talking to someone," came the answer. The speaker didn't sound angry, more annoyed and, did Wembley detect a hint of worry? "What do you expect me to think?"

Wembley could tell that Pippin was floundering as he thought up an excuse. Meanwhile, Boober and Gobo were looking at him impatiently.

"Come on Wembley," Gobo said, "Let's go. If we hurry we can be out of here before the other silly creature decides to come looking for us."

"Just wait a second Gobo," Wembley insisted. Pippin had finally found words to speak and Wembley wanted to hear them. "I want you to meet Pippin but I need to wait until whoever he's talking to leaves. He'll get them to leave don't worry. He promised to keep Fraggle Rock a secret."

"Frodo, it's complicated," his friend's voice came from the other side at the name Wembley's eyes widened and he gasped in excitement.

"It's Frodo!" he exclaimed excitedly, oblivious to the shushing sounds made by his two friends, and without further thought pushed the loose board away.

"Wembley!" Gobo shouted at the same time Boober wailed "Wait!" and made a mad grab for the retreating fraggle's tail. But Wembley was too far ahead of them for anything to change.

"Pippin it's alright!" Wembley said as he scrambled out of the hole.

"Ah!" the new occupant yelped and back away quickly from the hole. The yelp startled Wembley to stop where he was and waited for Pippin to calm Frodo down. Actually, Wembley thought Frodo seemed relatively calm, more startled than frightened.

"Frodo!" the hobbit said loudly, "Frodo it's okay. This is…this is who I was…talking to…just now.

The new hobbit started at Wembley for a few moments. His hair was darker than the other hobbit's and his skin color was even paler than Pippin's. He looked older than Pippin but only just a little. However, his eyes, which were incredibly wide and bright blue, seemed to hold a wisdom and experience older than the hobbit's physical appearance. _Kinda like Mokey's_ he thought to himself. Wembley realized that the hobbit was studying him cautiously; trying to digest what it was that was standing before him and whether or not he should be worried about it.

"Pippin" Frodo said slowly, "What is that?" he asked cautiously.

Pippin looked over at Wembley worriedly and Wembley nodded in encouragement.

"It's okay Pippin," he finally said. "The way you talk about Frodo I trust him."

On the other side of the wall, Boober and Gobo exchanged glances.

"What's he doing?" asked Gobo incredulously. He was peeking through a crack in the wood and Boober had his ear pressed against the board.

"He appears to be making friends with the silly creatures," Boober answered then looked again. "And succeeding quite well at it," he added.

Gobo gave an exasperated growl.

"Wembley if this turns into another Gorg incident…" he muttered under his breath.

The two looked back as Pippin started speaking again, this time more confidently.

"Frodo, this is Wembley Fraggle. He's a…well…a Fraggle…"

Boober looked back at Gobo.

"Cat's out of the bag now," he said in a defeated tone

Wembley for his part just stood and waited for Pippin and Frodo to talk it out before doing anything. Frodo still appeared shocked but not as nervous as he had been.

"A Fraggle?" he asked uncertainly but with that hint of curiosity that Wembley had heard in Pippin when they first met.

Both Pippin and Wembley nodded in unison.

Frodo slowly sank down to the floor till he was sitting.

"I've never heard of a fraggle before." He commented.

"Well, we have something in common then," Wembley said lightly. "Until a few weeks ago I'd never heard of a hobbit before either."

Frodo grinned a little bit at the answer; it was such a simple one.

"That makes perfect sense then I guess," he responded. He then stood and bowed to Wembley.

"In that case, Wembley Fraggle, I am Frodo Baggins, at your service and your family's."

In addition to the same look of awe that Wembley had when Pippin had last bowed to him, Wembley had a slight look of confusion on his face.

"Gosh, Pippin bowed to me when we first met too. Do you really like me that much?"

Pippin couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. Frodo was finding it hard to not join in with him.

Wembley frowned.

"What?" he asked, rather hurt that they would laugh at that question. He thought they liked him.

Frodo finally stopped chuckling enough to get coherent words out.

"We hobbits often bow in greeting," he explained as he sat back down.

"Though that's not to say we don't like you," Pippin quickly interjected.

"No, no, of course not." Frodo reassured.

Wembley nodded happily

"Alright then," he replied. He furrowed his brow a little bit then tried to position his arms the way Frodo and Pippin had.

"In that case," he continued. "Wembley Fraggle, at your service and your family's too."

Frodo stopped chuckling but the elated smile stayed on his face.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Master Fraggle."

Wembley dropped his arms and grinned, glad that he seemed to have done it right. Then he remembered something.

"Oh, wait one second I want you to meet someone," he said before dashing back into the hole to Gobo and Boober.

"Guys guys guys!" he said happily. "C'mon, you gotta come meet my friends."

"Wembley-" Gobo tried to protest but was cut off by his best friend grabbing his arm and pulling him through the hole and into the room.

"C'mon c'mon!" Wembley said excitedly as he pulled Gobo and pushed a protesting Boober. Soon though, despite the resistance and protests from the others, they were all standing by the wall in front of the two hobbits.

"Pippin, Frodo," he exclaimed excitedly. "I'd like you to meet my friends, Gobo and Boober Fraggle." Wembley turned around to face the other fraggles and finally noticed the look of fear on Boober's face as he hid behind Gobo and the look of slightly less fear, caution and curiousness on Gobo's. Thinking that maybe if he explained these looks might go away, Wembley simply continued.

"Uh Gobo, Boober this is Pippin Took and Frodo Baggins. They're hobbits. And Pippin is the one that I saw in the tunnels that one day. See, see I wasn't crazy or sick or anything. Isn't that great?"

There was an awkward silence for a few moments as Gobo and Boober tried to decide how to respond and Pippin and Frodo tried not to startle them any further. Finally, Frodo broke the silence.

"Um, hello," he greeted.

Boober fainted.

Out of instinct Wembley, Frodo, and Pippin moved forward. Wembley to help and Pippin and Frodo just a little but still ready to help if needed.

The movement behind him finally roused Gobo out of his stupor. He looked behind him to see Wembley helping Boober come to his senses. So he turned back to the others. He noticed that Frodo had pulled Pippin so that he was sitting down next to him. They weren't nearly so intimidating when they weren't standing up, he thought to himself. In fact, he noticed that they weren't much taller than he was. The one who lived in the room where he got Uncle Matt's postcards was huge.

"Uh, h-hi," he answered back nervously. Wembley finally got Boober back on his feet. The two staggered up next to Gobo.

"Terribly sorry about that," Frodo said contritely to the two of them before looking at Boober. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Boober stuttered a little but nodded his head shakily. There was more silence before Gobo thought to speak again, but more to himself than anything.

"So, there really was something down here," he said quietly.

Wembley nodded.

"I know isn't it great Gobo," he answered.

"Well yea, sorta," Gobo agreed. "It's just…just…" he trailed off as he thought about how he felt about the fact that he was actually speaking to two silly creatures.

"Wow, I wonder if this is how Uncle Matt felt when he first started interacting with silly creatures," he mumbled.

"Silly creatures?" Frodo asked.

"That's what they call us," Pippin explained to his cousin. "It's like how we refer to Big People."

Frodo nodded.

"You have an Uncle who's met Sill- uh, hobbits before?" he asked. "Funny, I don't remember anyone mentioning fraggles before."

"Well, I dunno if he's ever met a hobbit before," Gobo explained. "I mean, the only other silly creature I've ever seen was really tall. Unless hobbits get taller than the two of you are now."

Frodo shook his head.

"No, not much taller. What you've referred to sounds like a man or an elf," he explained.

"A man OR an elf?" Boober asked, finally breaking his silence. "Good grief, how many kinds of silly creatures are there?"

Wembley watched as Frodo and Pippin looked at each other, thinking a moment before answering.

"Well," began Frodo as he counted off on his fingers. "There are hobbits, men, elves, dwarves, and I suppose you could count wizards if you're basing things by appearance. And there might be others that we don't know about yet."

At the word "wizard" Boober snorted derisively.

"Wizards," he muttered under his breath.

"What" Frodo asked, hearing the remark.

"It's just, we have a wizard in Fraggle Rock," Gobo answered. "Actually I guess we _had _one. He would come to the Great Hall from time to time and do magic shows. But that was before he decided to sell banana tree shirts."

"And good riddance I say," added Boober. "After that whole business with the poison cackler and switching places with Wembley."

"He switched places with you?" Pippin asked.

"What's a poison cackler?" Frodo asked at the same time.

"Well, yea," Wembley admitted. "He and I looked similar and with the fake beard he wore, you'd never know it wasn't me. But it felt nice to be noticed at the time. Oh a poison cackler is this huge fearsome creature with big teeth and lots of legs. Apparently it was after him because it wanted his smoke pellets. So since we switched places it came after me instead."

"It didn't hurt you did it?" Pippin asked.

"Oh no," Wembley assured him. "No we threw the pellets down the cave and it ran off after them."

"Nothing but trouble in the end," Boober finished.

Frodo sat back and nodded a little.

"Yes, that's what they often say about Gandalf," he said softly.

"Gandalf?" Wembley asked.

"Yes, he's a friend of ours," Frodo added. "He's a wizard too. But I'm afraid he's a little different than the wizard you know. He's-he's kind and wise and…well you'd have to meet him to quite understand him. But he has gained a bit of a reputation around here.

Frodo chuckled and Gobo picked up a distinct air of reminiscence. "He showed up years ago and convinced my Uncle Bilbo to go off on an incredible adventure with him. Oh sure Bilbo met some extraordinary people and did some wonderful things. But many hobbits just think of Gandalf as being a disturber of the peace."

"He sure sounds like it," Boober commented.

"Perhaps," Frodo agreed. "But if you ever met him I think you might have a change of heart. At the very least he's much more than someone who would do magic tricks."

"Well I'll just take your word for that for now," Boober said with a decisive nod."

Wembley noticed that Gobo was studying Frodo intently.

"What is it Gobo?" he asked.

"Oh I was just thinking," Gobo said quietly before addressing Frodo. "You're Uncle Bilbo reminds me a bit of My Uncle Matt."

"Really?" Frodo asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Sure, he goes by Travelling Matt and he's an explorer like I am. He left a while ago to explore the great unknown beyond Fraggle Rock that we call Outer Space. He sends me postcards every few days of all the discoveries he makes." Gobo looked up upon finishing his explanation and was shocked to see that Frodo's expression had changed from one of curiosity to melancholy.

"I wish Bilbo would write," he pondered quietly. Pippin scooted closer and rubbed his cousin's arm.

"Why do you wish he'd write?" Gobo asked, "Didn't he come back after his adventure?" Frodo nodded.

"Oh he did. That particular adventure took place even before I was born. He's told me all sorts of stories about his adventures. He's met men, elves, dwarves, and all sorts of other creatures. He's considered a hero amongst some of them and he's travelled to all sorts of places. He's writing it all down in a book he took with him," he finished.

"Really?" Gobo asked. "Uncle Matt left me a book he wrote. It's about all he had explored up until the time he left for Outer Space."

Gobo was delighted to see a grin spread across Frodo's face.

"Well, then perhaps we'll have to exchange stories someday Gobo," was the eager suggestion.

Gobo's agreement was no less eager.

"Oh, I'd love that."

"Me too," Wembley joined in.

"Uh," I think I'll leave the storytelling to you guys," Boober said.

"Anyway," Frodo continued his narrative, "Bilbo left again a few years ago for Rivendell, that's one of the places he's been on his adventures," he quickly clarified. He continued with a wistful sigh. "I don't blame him. When you've been everywhere he's been I would imagine it'd be hard to go back to the way things used to be."

"Isn't that what Travelling Matt said?" Wembley asked Gobo, "That time that he came back and we found the Crystal Caverns?" Gobo nodded.

"Yea," he said to everyone, then explained to the hobbits "He told me he was coming back to stay once. But he was barely back a day before we could both see that he wasn't happy in Fraggle Rock, not after everything he'd seen in Outer Space. But he comes back to visit every now and then."

"Perhaps Bilbo will someday," Pippin interjected hopefully. "Or maybe we'll go see him one day.

"Maybe," Frodo said softly.

"Well, until then," Gobo said as he reached into his pocket and pulled something, "Maybe this will help some. It's a postcard my Uncle Matt sent me the other day. They bring me inspiration. Why don't you take it?"

Frodo reached out and took the offered gift, his eyes already skimming the words written on it as he began to speak.

_Dear Nephew Gobo,_

_The other day I realized something about the silly creatures that quite astonished me. Some of them have trouble walking. For the most part I have seen Silly creatures walking around upright and unaided, much like us fraggles. But those who have trouble walking for themselves have found a way that they can still walk. They tie themselves to hairy monsters not unlike the one you and I have seen, and the hairy monsters pull them along. The silly creatures are often so thankful that they shower the hairy monsters with affection at every chance they get. _

_Remember, nephew, never forget to show appreciation to those who help you._

_Will write again soon. Much love,_

_You're Uncle Travelling Matt._

Frodo smiled as he finished reading.

"Your uncle seems like a very insightful fellow," he said to Gobo. Then he glanced over it one more time and added. "Though for the life of me I don't have any idea what he's talking about."

Gobo had already read the postcard once but it was nice to hear it again. And he had been delighted to see the hobbit's eyes perk up a little at the card as he read.

"Well, he does go all over the place," the Fraggle responded. "Maybe this is a culture different than you hobbits or something."

"Sounds as good as any other explanation to me," Pippin said with a shrug.

"At any rate, thank you for sharing it with me," Frodo said as he went to return the card. But Gobo pushed it back.

"You should keep it," he offered sincerely. "I know Uncle Matt isn't Bilbo but, it might help when you start to miss him. Frodo nodded a watery smile on his face.

"Thank you very much most noble Fraggle," was the heartfelt gratitude.

"You're welcome…uh…most noble hobbit," Gobo answered, ignoring Pippin and Wembley's snickering at his answer.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt this moment," Boober cut in, "But seeing as how Wembley's not hallucinating or sick or crazy, we should get going back. I've got laundry I need to finish or it'll start to get mildew."

"Aw, c'mon Boober," Wembley insisted. "This is fun isn't it?"

"Well, yes," Boober agreed albeit a little reluctantly. "It's been okay, although possibly quite…odd. And I don't mean any disrespect it's just-"

"No, you're right," Frodo cut in. "We should probably get going anyway, it'll be supper soon. It has been a pleasure meeting all of you."

"You too," Gobo said, "Both of you. It's been wonderful actually being able to talk to a silly creature. I can't wait to tell Uncle Matt about it."

"Bye Pippin," Wembley waved. "I'll be sure to come back again soon."

Pippin just waved as the fraggles went back out through the hole in the wall.

"That was fun," Gobo said as the trio continued back towards Fraggle Rock.

"I told you they were real," Wembley smirked.

"But are you sure all silly creatures are like them?" Boober asked.

"What do you mean Boober," Gobo asked.

"Well, it's just; some of the creatures Matt talks about in his postcards would wreak havoc on Fraggle Rock if they ever got there. How can we be sure the hobbits aren't creatures like that?"

"Oh c'mon Boober," Gobo argued. "They seem nice enough."

"And even if they weren't, Pippin promised me that he'd keep Fraggle Rock a secret. And the way he talks about Frodo I'm sure that Frodo can keep it a secret too."

"Okay," Boober answered, "as long as you're sure."

"Let's just say that this is something I won't have to wemble about," came the confident answer as the trio walked the rest of the way home.


End file.
